China plans to venture farther into deep space

China has achieved remarkable accomplishments in the field of deep space exploration and is advancing its next ambitious missions, such as a Mars sample-return adventure and a Jupiter system expedition.

Chinese space scientists are also setting their sights on farther destinations that have never been closely observed by any Earthly spacecraft — ice giants in the solar system, particularly Neptune.

"Ice giants preserve pristine gaseous materials that record the evolutionary history of protostellar clouds and crucial information about planetary formation. These planets serve as vital subjects for studying the solar system's origins and exoplanets," Yang Mengfei, a senior scientist at the China Academy of Space Technology in Beijing and chief designer of the Chang'e 5 lunar mission, told China Daily in an exclusive interview.